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Undergraduate Research

Students and professor going over the function of a machine in the lab.

Our department has a wide range of ongoing research activities. Each of these areas provide opportunities to learn important new research techniques and skills, including the handling of air and moisture-sensitive reagents, multi-step organic synthesis, crystallization, flash chromatography, nuclear magnetic resonance, infrared spectroscopy, mass spectroscopy, X-ray crystal analysis, high-pressure liquid chromatography and optical polarimetry. There are opportunities to conduct research during the summer as well as the academic year.

"Working in research completely changed my perspective on education. It allowed me to fast-forward to the part where I am making a lasting, substantial contribution to scientific understanding."

Stefan Lucchini, '14

Finding a faculty research mentor

Students of all majors engage in research. There is no requirement that students do research in their own department, and as a result, chemistry majors are found in labs all over the university. Students generally pick a research lab based on the tools or topics that interest them. For example, if you would like to learn about mass spectrometry or work on developing new pharmaceuticals, you can find labs all over campus using that tool, regardless of what area of research it’s being applied to. You can find a lab that interests you by reading the web pages that each professor/lab maintains describing the work in their lab. Reading recent research papers is also a good way to start understanding the tools and topics being explored in that lab.

Additional resources

In order to obtain the best possible match, students are encouraged to directly contact the faculty member(s) whose ongoing project(s) coincide with the student's own interests. You may also contact Lead Chemistry Advisor Christine Pastorek (Christine.Pastorek@oregonstate.edu) for additional information concerning possible research opportunities.

Financial support is possible through the OSU Research Office, Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, and the Arts (URSA), and College of Science Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE Science).

An internship can be a valuable addition to the normal academic program and can strengthen the resume of a student seeking employment in their profession.

Our students make a difference in the lab, and beyond